Build AI Before You Are Ready

A love letter to every woman waiting for the perfect time to begin.

Aug 26, 2025

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
— Walt Disney

Last week, I was having dinner with one of my closest friends. A woman I deeply admire. She is brilliant, accomplished, the kind of person who seems to excel at everything she touches. I feel lucky to call her a friend.

Between bites of pasta, she leaned toward me and confessed that she wanted to create her first AI agent. Then she paused, half-smiling, half-serious, and said: “I think I’ll need to take a whole Coursera course before I even start. Maybe it’s better if I just hire someone.”

I smiled because I have heard this before. In fact, I have been hearing it almost every week lately. From women I love, women I admire, women who are brilliant. Mothers, colleagues, friends. Different lives, same hesitation.

It struck me. Why do so many of us think that we need to outsource our first steps? Why do we believe that we have to be full trained, fully credentialed, fully prepared before we even try?

Sometimes the solution is smaller that we think. Sometimes the “big scary project” is just one tiny experiment away. But we will never know until we start.

So I asked her the question I have started asking everyone: “What if you just did it yourself? What if you gave yourself permission to start small, messy, imperfect?”

When I reflect on my own career, I can see the pattern. School trains us to be ready before we act. Corporate life rewards polish and preparation. Motherhood teaches us to anticipate, to over-plan, to protect. Somewhere along the way, “readiness“ becomes our armor.

But readiness can also become our cage.

You have probably heard the line: men apply when they meet 60% of the requirements, women only when they meet 100%. That gem originates from a comment by an HP executive, and while there is no formal study supporting the exact numbers, the image sticks [1,2]. Real research confirms the pattern, even if the stats differ. Women tend to apply to fewer roles, particularly higher-level ones [3]. Imagine the opportunities that slip by in that gap..

And when it comes to technology, especially something that feels as new and mysterious as AI, the hesitation grows even louder. The questions sneak in:

What if I fail?
What if I look unprofessional?
What if I don’t know enough?

But what if… failure is just part of the experiment? What if “not knowing enough” is the exact condition for learning? What if the “unprofessional” beginning is the only doorway to mastery?

Walt Disney said it best: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

And I want to say this, especially to women: we do not need another certificate, another stamp of approval, another year of proving ourselves before we take that first step.

Start the draft.
Open the app.
Build the tiny version.
Say yes to the curiosity tugging at you.

Because action is clarifying. The moment we begin, the fog lifts. We learn, not in theory, but in motion.

So to every woman who has ever waited for permission, for perfection, for the perfect moment: this is it. This is the perfect moment. Start small, start scrappy, start now.

Trust me. You will learn on the way.

And if you’re still unsure where to begin, stay with me. In my next series, I will share simple, step-by-step ideas for how busy parents (and anyone who feels stretched thin) can use AI to take small things off their plate. E.g., see here a simple way to automate your family calendar with AI.

So, start small. Stay curious. And most of all, stay tuned. This is just the beginning.

About the author: She is a Senior Computer Scientist based in Silicon Valley, where she uses her expertise in mathematics and artificial intelligence to help ensure the safety and reliability of critical systems (think airplanes and beyond!) She’s also the parent of a curious 3-year-old daughter. Each night, she reflects on how AI is reshaping the world her daughter is growing up in. This Substack is her space to explore those reflections on technology, the future, and what it truly means to raise children in an age of rapid and often unpredictable change.